The latest mortgage delinquency statistics show that Hurricane Irma is continuing to disrupt local mortgage repayments this month. Both short-term delinquency rates (30 days late) and more serious delinquencies (90 days plus late) are up year on year. Also, after a long run of reduced foreclosure rates, they also started trending up over the last few months.
Tag: home buying
While I focus most of my time on what’s happening in Manatee and Sarasota counties, it’s also important to follow the broader real estate trends. Overall, the real estate market in the United States is seeing significant price increases. Over the past 12 months, average sale prices for homes have risen by 6.9%.
New Construction Thoughts
Purchasing a newly constructed home is more complicated than buying an existing home. Accordingly, it is often more important to hire a real estate agent with a new home purchase than it is with an existing home. That said, make sure that any agent you hire has experience with new construction, as builder contracts and the building process are different from what most real estate agents normally deal with.
We saw a reversal in mortgage rates last month after a rapid rise in April. Average U.S. rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages are currently at 4.64%. At the end of last month, they were sitting at 4.73%. While it is great to see upward momentum reverse for the moment, the general forecast continues to be for a slow continued rise over the rest of the year.
The Sarasota and Manatee county markets for condos & townhomes remain disconnected for properties between $600k and $1M. In Manatee, it is better to be a buyer; however, in Sarasota the market is balanced. While the $1M+ condo market in Sarasota has favored sellers all year, this is the first month that we also see it happening in Manatee.